Can labeling machine



(No Model.)

Patented Apr, 10, 1894.

W/TNE 858 m 8 mm 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

A. L. STEVENS. CAN LABELING MAGHINE.

' Patented Apr. 10, 1894.

INVENTOI? ATTORNEY.

um CBMPANV, vusnmarcn, n. a.

me NAfiONAL LITHOGRAPHI a M e h .P t e e h s 3 ,E m ,3 M E M EG m SL v A L N A G (No Model.)

Arron/v57? I Patented Apr. 10, 1894.

W/TNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED L. STEVENS, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO JOHN M. PHELPS AND CHRISTOPHER W. UTHBROK, OF SAME PLACE.

CAN-LABELING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 517,898, dated April 10,1894.

Application filed October 21, 1893. serial No. 488,334. (No-model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED L. STEVENS, of Dayton, county of Montgomery, State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Can-Labeling Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable the mechanism and reduce the expense of' making a machine of the class named, while the efficiency thereof is proportionately increased.

To these ends the improvements consist in providing an incline way in which two separate paste receptacles and their appliances are located; one to give the initial, and the other the final application of paste to the can while said can is gravitating down the incline; and further, in a label holder of peculiar form with adjunctive devices, also located on said incline between the paste sta-' tions and in the path of the can, and other features of novelty that will be fully described in the specification and mentioned in the claims.

In the annexed drawings which are hereby made a part of the specification, and upon which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a plan view of the inclined way and the mechanical elements operating in conjunction therewith, the lower end broken off; Fig. 2 a side elevation of the median portion of the inclined way, one side being removed'to exhibit the location and arrangement of the labeling parts; Fig. 3 a side elevation exhibiting the lever and ratchet mechanism, the dotted lines show the label holder lowered to a position to take on labels; Fig. 4 a vertical section on the line w-a: of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 an enlarged side elevation with ends broken off, showing the ratchet mechanism; Fig. 6 a view of the lower end of the inclined Way, from beneath; Fig. 7 a detail, detached side elevation of one of the paste receptacles, a side. thereof being removed to exhibit the mounting of the lower roller; Fig. 8 a detached, detail planview of one of the paste receptacles; Fig. 9 a detail detached side elevation of one of the plates that inclose the side of the labels; Fig. 10 a sectional view of a portion of one of the sides of the inclined way, showing the means for adjusting the adjustable plate inclosing one of the sides of the labels; Fig. 11 enlarged detail detached front and edge views of the roller scraper.

1 indicates side pieces joined by bottom. brace pieces 2, 3, and t all'of which constitute an inclined way, having for its support, standards 5-5 any suitable number of which may be employed, and their length such that will effect an incline of the way substantially as shown in the drawings, which enables the can to roll down the way at a suitable rate of speed for the purposes in hand.

The paste receptacles of which there are two, 6 and 7, are located. as shown in Fig. 2;

the object of having two paste. holders, and

their particular location will be mentioned hereinafter; each of these receptacles is provided on its inner sides with ledges 8, of curvilinear form, upon which the journals of rollers 9 and 10 are mounted, and-which rollers are provided with a number of teeth near their ends, projecting from the circumference, that engage with rollers 11 and 12 journaled in the sides of the inclined way; the

latter rollers are provided with a'yielding or pliable surface, with which the teeth onroll ers 9 and .10 engage, and are thereby rotated, the manner of mounting the latter rollers being such that will maintain them in normal contact with the rollers 11 and 12 by force of gravity, and said rollers 9 and 10 have the two-fold function of agitating or mixing the paste, and applying the same to rollers 11 and 12. The pasting surface of roller 11 terminates at both ends about a half an inch or so shorter than the length of the cans, the object of this construction is to prevent the application of paste to the extreme ends of said cans for the reason that the pressure would squeeze the paste over the ends of the cans which would interfere with the efficiencyof the work. It will be noted, that the diameters of rollers 11 .and 12 vary, and that the former roller rotates in the paste; this construction and arrangement are essential, for the reason that it is necessary to apply paste to a greater area of the cans surface in the initial application. while a less quantity of paste is required for the final end.

13 is a paste scraper mounted transversely adjacent to the surface of roller 11, with ends l3 at right angles to extend over the ends of said roller, to prevent the accumulation of an excess of paste on said roller.

14 and 15 are ratchet wheels keyed to one end of the shafts or rollers 11 and 12 on the outside of the inclined Way.

16 and 17 are ratchet plates pivoted to the horizontal bar 18 and having one end (19) bent outwardly at right angles to engage with the teeth of said ratchet wheels; the bar 18 is slidingly mounted in guides 20 and has a pivotal connection at its forward end to an upright lever 21 which lever is reinforced on either side by plates 22. ver has its fulcrum on a horizontal arm 23 fast at one end to an upright 24:, of which there are two-one on each side of the inthe inclined way, and has a weight 39 at clined way.

25 is an upright lever having a fulcrum on a horizontal bar 26' loosely journaled in uprights 24.

27 is a link, fast to oneend-of the bar 26,

and the other end of said link having a ,piv-

otal connection with plate 28 to which the lever 21 is attached. At the lower end of lever 25 is rigidly attached a plate 29 the-function of which is to allow the cans to travelat the proper time,or preventthem from travel ing down the incline way, which is done by moving the lever 25 forward or backward as the'case maybe, bythe hand; this operation understood.

30represents the label holder hinged at one 5 end to theiinclined way, and having a curvilinear bed or raisediportionfil inclining-rea wardly, upon which the labels 32 are placed,i and:an inclined stop ormest 83 at its rearward end againstwhieh the lower ends of the labels 1 rest.

34 is a weight hinged to the rest 33 andi adapted to "press upon the top of 'thelabels toi Thelo-i cation of the ilabel Tholderwith reference to. the initial epaste roller 11 is such that ithe;

lkeep themsmooth and :in position.

pasted :portion of the can will comein contact with the label:arsufficient-distance away 3 from the extreme front edge zthereof, to pre- This 1e It is understood ithatwere of thelabels are elevated to a horizontal plane by reason of their resting on the bed 31 and that the front and rear edges of the pack incline by reason of the rear ends resting against the rest 33; this arrangement is important as it enables the gravitating cans to take up only one label at a time, without applying the paste to the edges of any of the other labels the portion of the can having the initial application of paste, coming in contact with the surface of the label to a sufficient extent to cause said labels to adhere thereto.

35 representsstops or guides journaled in the sides of the inclined way, having on one end a pin projecting at right angles over the pack of labels and into a portion of the labels, the object of which is to assist in preserving the labels in a proper condition to be taken up by the can, and to prevent the possibility of the engagement of but one at a time.

At the front end of the label holder an arm 36 is attached to the projecting end of which a cable or rope 37 is secured; this rope surrounds a pulley 38 journaled in the sides of tached to the other end, the efiect of this weight is to norinally elevatethelabel holder on its pivot and thereby maintain the labels in contact with the stops 35 and in the path of the cans.

and 41 indicateplates having lateral pins on their sides by which theyare attached to the inner sides of the inclined way'so that they'inclose the sides of the labels; these plates might be said to form the sides of the label holder-,inasmuch asthey occupyiarelative position thereto; the mounting of ;plate 40 is rigid, but that of plate 41 is adjustable as shown in Fig. 10, by providing a spring :metal plate 42 secured at one end to theside of the inclined way; this plate may be adjusted by meansof ascrew 42'.

43 and 44 are tracks upon which the cans travel, the former track commencesat the upper end of the incline way and carries'the cans over the first pasting station -where'they take on a-sufficient amount of paste ito'take up the front end of a label as is 'sho-wn in Fig. 2; after leaving thebed of theilabels, the

I iupper edges'of the plates 40iand 41 form a track for theucans until track 44iis reached which carries themover Ithe secondpasting station; 'thersecond applicationtof :paste is to secure the lower-or overlapping end of the label and thus completelyapply it,-it being understood thattheifirst application of paste is to secure the iinitial endof the ilabel. It will be 'noted-thatithe second pasteireceptacle is located withireference Itoithe time vit itakes the can ntopresenttheinitial end of the label IIO sure a perfect-adherence of the labels; any

unnecessary slack of said ropes may be taken up by adjusting the transverse .bar 46 to which one end of .the ropes are secured, by means of the bolts 47 fixed to the lower extremity of the way, and upon which the bar 46 is mounted.

- .In Fig. 2,-48 represents acan having just taken up a label; 49 is a pressure belt supported upon uprights 50 and 51.

Fig. 3 shows in dotted lines cans traveling down the incline. Finally, to prevent any paste from accidentally flying on the edges of the front ends of the labels I suspend an apron 52 of any suitable material, just below the first paste receptacle, this apron is somewhat similar in form to the. plate 29 and is permitted to freely vibrate'as the cans pass.

Having fully described my invention, I desire to claim as follows: r 1. In a can-labeling machine, the combination with the inclined way herein described; of paste receptacles with ledges 8, the paste rollers 9 and 10 having circumferential teeth near their ends, and bearings on the ledges 8, the paste rollers 11 and 12 by which the rollers 9 and 10 are revolved, and the ratchet mechanism by meansof which the rollers 11 and 12 are revolved.

2. In a can-labeling machine, the combination with the inclined way; of a label holder having one end pivoted to the way, and the other end free to be lowered or raised, paste receptacles, one above and one below said label holderfor adhering the initial and final ends of the labels to the cans, the paste rollers 9 and 10, and 11 and 12, ratchet wheels rigidly mounted on the journals of rollers 9 and-11, the horizontal sliding plate bar 18 having one end pivoted'to the vertical lever 21, the plates 16 and 17 pivoted to the bar 18, and adapted to engage with the ratchet wheels, and means for operating the lever 21 where by the bar 18 is moved and the ratchet mechanism actuated, substantially as herein described.

3. In a can-labeling machine the combination of the inclined way, the pressure belt 49 mounted over said incline,alabel holder pivoted at one end, to said incline, the bed of said label holder having a curvilinear formwhereon the-front ends of the labels lie in a horizontal plane, paste receptacles located beneath the incline, and at both ends of the label holder, the rollers 11 and 12, and the rollers 9 and 10, the latter having peripheral teeth to engage with the former, whereby. paste is applied to' the cans in a manner to prevent said paste from oozing from beneath the label, substantially as described.

4. In a labeling machine, the combination with the inclined way; of a curved label bed having one end pivoted to the inclined way, the curvature of said bed being such that presents one end of the labels in a horizontal position to be taken up one by one by the gravitating cans, the guides 35 with pins penetrating said labels to control the removal thereof, paste receptacles-located above and below the label holder and beneath the inclined way, pasting rollers mounted in said receptacles in the path of the cans, and lever and ratchet mechanism for rotating said rollers, substantially as described.

5. In a can labeling machine, the combination with the inclined way; of a curved label holder having one end hinged thereto, the curvature of the bed of said holder being such that will present the initial end of the labels to the cans, on a horizontal plane, so thatsaidcans may come in sufficient contact therewith, the guides 35having pins adapted to penetrate said labels and thereby control theirremoval, the side plates 40 and 4Lincl0sing the sides of the labels, the latter plate being adjustable, whereby said plates are adapted to inclose' labels of difierent widths, paste receptacles located beneath the inclined way, above and below the label holder with pasting rollers mounted therein, and lever and ratchet mechanism for rotating said rollers, substanv tially as described. i

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of September, 1893.

I ALFRED L. STEVENS.

. Witnesses:

-' S. A. DICKSON,

R; J. MGCARTY. 

